Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s dismal approval ratings haven’t stood in the way of her being crowned “Mayor of the Year” by an Ontario-based municipal magazine.
The Mayor of the Year award, chosen by the editors of Municipal World, is said to follow research, interviews, and observations of the municipal sector in Canada.
“The Mayor of the Year award recognized a Canadian mayor who goes above and beyond the call of duty for their municipality,” reads the magazine’s website.
The monthly magazine Municipal World has been published since 1891.
Municipal World executive editor Greg Crone told True North that the publication sought a mayor who showed leadership while moving forward on their agenda.
“There were no runner-ups. There was no voting. We zeroed in on Mayor Gondek early and selected her by consensus of our editorial staff,” said Crone.
However, polling suggests that Calgarians may have voted differently than the Ontario magazine.
Gondek’s approval rating was a mere 26% in a June 2024 poll issued by ThinkHQ. The approval rating was contrasted with a 64% disapproval rating.
The poll showed that Gondek and the city council’s approval ratings had reached an all-time low following Calgary’s water crisis.
“Mayor Gondek was selected by Municipal World’s editorial team for her cool leadership during Calgary’s water emergency last June and for being effective in moving her agenda forward on issues such as downtown revitalization and creating safer streets,” said Crone.
ThinkHQ president Marc Henry said the polling ratings were unprecedentedly low for Gondek and the city council.
“They’ve managed to break their own record for low approval ratings set in December of last year, and it seems driven primarily by negative public reactions to policies like the single-use bag bylaw and blanket rezoning,” said Henry.
Crone said that Municipal World wasn’t presenting a message, and it’s up to readers to decide what they think about the decision.
“We did not look at polling data as it was a purely editorial decision,” he said.
Gondek told CTV News that she did not know the award existed but that she was shocked and humbled by the decision.
Gondek’s predecessor and current NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi similarly won a mayoral award when he was granted the 2014 World Mayor Prize.
He, too, did not fare well in his approval ratings, although he outperformed Gondek.
A June 2019 poll from ThinkHQ highlighted that Nenshi had a 39% approval rating, contrasted with 55% disapproval.
During Nenshi’s tenure, the city council had a 25% approval rating, contrasted with 66% disapproval. Polling on the city council’s approval rating during Gondek’s tenure was the exact same.
Gondek was previously subject to recall legislation that did not meet the legal threshold.
However, the process revealed that the threshold was nearly impossible to meet, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pledged to review it.
This year was the first that Municipal World awarded the Mayor of the Year.
True North reached out to Gondek for comment but received no reply.